The Observer, March 25, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 22
Visiting humanities students get look at campus, free iPods
Prospective members of the Case class of 2009 who visited here last weekend went home with a first-hand look at the university, specific information about their intended majors, and a free iPod Shuffle courtesy of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The program, Liberal Arts Weekend, was offered to students who had already been accepted by Case and who had specified the humanities as their intended majors, said Liz Woyczynski, the director of Undergraduate Admiss-ion. The academic focus for the entire weekend was limited to disciplines within the humanities.
"It was just a way to capitalize on Humanities Week, so there were all these great events here for faculty, students, and staff," Woyczynski said. "As we put on open houses for the entire student body, that group of students somehow got dwarfed a little bit sometimes, and we wanted to put on a program that just specifically met their interests. We hoped that that would increase their interest and make them feel more wanted."
Invitations to the program went out to 252 admitted humanities students as of mid-February; only 37 of them accepted and arrived on campus last weekend, Woyczynski said.
Activities included discussions with faculty members on academic issues within the humanities, pairing up with host students for trips to Coventry, the talk given last Friday by comic artist Art Spiegelman, and SAGES discuss-ions with faculty members.
Separate activities were also organized for parents, said Bob McCullough, the Admissions director of marketing and communications.
The prospective students received free airfare to and from Cleveland, and the parents that accompanied them stayed overnight at Glidden House. During their stay in the campus residence halls, the program participants also received temporary Case ID cards pre-loaded with CaseCash, a tour of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and an iPod Shuffle containing songs that shaped the genre of rock 'n' roll.
"We did have a good budget for it," Woyczynski said. "[Arts and Sciences dean] Mark Turner got a fund that he was able to use how he wanted to, specifically for the College of Arts and Sciences, and he decided he wanted to put that money towards recruiting students in the humanities."
Woyczynski said that she couldn't estimate the final cost of the weekend because she hadn't received airfare or Glidden House bills yet. "It's probably upwards of $20,000," she said, "which is actually – by the time you pay for catering for a group of people, and hotel, and airfare, and everything else – it's really not that much more expensive than what we've done for our full scholarship winners."
"It's pretty expensive to recruit students," Woyczynski said. "You can spend a lot of money doing that."
McCullough said that similar weekend programs are arranged for winners of the Adelbert Squire and Smith-Treuhaft scholarships and also for participants of the Airlift program. Woyczynski said that this adds up to a total of between 60 and 80 students.
Success rates, measured by how many participants actually enroll at Case, for these weekend programs are variable, McCullough said. Case often competes with schools like MIT or Princeton over students who are offered the full-tuition scholarships, he said.
Feedback from the Liberal Arts Weekend, at least, was positive, Woyczynski said. "One student wrote me right after he got home and said that for attending this program he had a whole new perspective on Case that he wouldn't have gotten if he came to the April open house," she said. "A lot of students said they loved interacting with the faculty."
Admissions personnel said that similar weekends may be planned in other disciplines for future years.
"We're just figuring out it's not one size fits all. You can't tell everybody about research or co-op," said Lisa Chiu, the assistant director of Admission marketing and communications.
"I think we're finding that we're doing a better job of attracting students to apply by addressing their interests head-on," Woyczynski said. "When you talk about the whole university, sometimes the larger picture can obscure the very solid programs we have in nursing, management, liberal arts, and some other areas. Having specialized programs is part of what we've been doing to tell people what they want to know more about."
"People like stuff that's a program. They feel like there's some attention placed on them, and it gives them a reason to come on a particular day," McCullough said.
